Reprinted from The Leader, Fall 1999

Leave No Trace, Inc., (LNT) along with representatives from its federal land agency partners, honored NOLS with the Leave No Trace Interagency Partnership Award at Outdoor Retailer's Summer Market held in August. Leave No Trace is a national education program that teaches and promotes responsible outdoor recreation.

The award, presented annually, recognizes a LNT partner for their outstanding promotion and support of the national program.

Outdoor industry representatives and LNT supporters gathered for an award presentation to recognize NOLS' longtime involvement to the LNT program. "NOLS' commitment to LNT is unparalleled," stated Dennis Bschor, director of recreation, heritage and wilderness resources at the U.S. Forest Service. "Without NOLS' historic commitment to minimum impact education and training, the Leave No Trace program would not be nearly as successful as it is today."

Bschor presented the award with LNT Executive Director Dana Watts; Roger Semler of the National Park Service and Stew Jacobson of the Bureau of Land Management.

"NOLS' outdoor teaching expertise really strengthens the LNT program. We look forward to continuing this excellent partnership well into the future," said Watts. NOLS developed the Leave No Trace Skills and Ethics booklet series, the master educator training course, and helped cultivate partnerships with the federal land agencies and others. Under NOLS' guidance, more than 1,000 students across the U.S. and in Mexico and Canada have been successfully trained in LNT techniques.

"All of us at NOLS are very pleased to receive this recognition," said NOLS Executive Director John Gans. "The LNT program has provided a great opportunity for us to extend NOLS' educational mission to an incredible number of wilderness users. NOLS is proud of its role in the Leave No Trace program."